Cheat-Ed
by The Pen Vs The Sword
Summary: Edd bit off more than he could chew and didn't have time to study. Thankfully, Marie has an idea. Semi-side story to "Chemical Ed-traction". One-shot. Edd/Marie.


**A/N:**

**Sword:** Psst! Psst! Hey, over here! *sneaks up close* Hey, so the author and Pen don't know I'm here doing this. But I couldn't stand not putting out daily fluff anymore! So I managed to smuggle some here, a bit of a side story or extra to our previous "Chemical Ed-traction". You'll have to be quiet though so they don't find out. That said, Edd and Marie and all related stuff belong to Danny Antonucci and Cartoon Network. The story belongs to me, but I'm sharing it with all you lovely and wonderful people. Have fun and enjoy!

**Cheat-Ed**

"Oh dear," Edd said to himself, checking his wristwatch for the umpteenth time, his frantic eyes glued to the ever-marching second hand. "Oh, dear. Oh, dear." He scooted in and around the various bodies of students milling in the high school hallways, killing time before the first period bell. "Sorry, excuse me, pardon me." He contorted between arms, backs, and stomachs, all the while clutching his textbooks close to his chest.

Just as he neared his classroom, he glanced at the watch again, his breath hitching in his throat. "Hurry, hurry, hurry!" He swung into the classroom, one of the first in as usual, and was relieved to see the teacher wasn't there yet.

In fact, the only other person in the room was in the back row. She looked up as he burst in, one eye barely visible under messy blue hair. Her gum chewing and smacking synced with the clock ticking on the wall. She blew a large bubble that popped loudly in the quiet of the room and gave him a broad grin, lifting her adorable freckles.

"Hey there, Oven Mitt," Marie said, sticking the wad of gum under the desk.

His girlfriend's voice dampened his anxiety and for a moment, he calmly walked over to her, his own goofy smile burning its way to his ears.

"Hey," he said. Unfortunately, his eyes caught sight of writing on the board and his stomach sank into his shoes once again. TEST BEGIN: 7:30. TEST END: 8:15. YOU MAY ONLY USE A #2 PENCIL.

Immediately, Edd dropped his books on his desk beside Marie with a sudden _thud!_ making her jump. "Sorry," he said to her dirty glare as he cracked open the books before him, scanning the various paragraphs to absorb as much information as he could.

"I missed you again," she said, examining her fingernails and chewing on them. She found a bit of dirt and flicked it away. "You said you'd keep me company in detention this morning. It's no fun without you."

"I know, I know, and I apologize," he said, closing one book and flipping to a later chapter in another. "I meant to come in, but I woke up late because I fell asleep studying."

"Why are you so worried about studying?" she asked. "It's the first test."

"Exactly. It sets a precedent for our grade the rest of the year."

She rolled her eyes. "It's history, so I'm sure you've got this."

"Unfortunately, no," he said. "I haven't had time to study at all this week. Between studying with you for other classes‑"

"Sure, if you still insist on calling it 'studying'," Marie said, chuckling.

Edd rubbed his neck, shivering as phantom sensations of Marie's lips on his neck and collarbone from their last session sent chills down his spine. "Anyway, between that and helping Eddy and Ed with their homework, I haven't had time to study."

"Oh, so it's all our fault?" Marie said, spitting a chewed fingernail in his direction. Edd deftly dodged it. "Well, maybe we'll forego our session this afternoon. Since you _obviously_ don't have time for it and all."

"No, of course it's not your fault," he said, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. That seemed to satisfy her, and she scooted her desk closer. "It's just that Eddy kept getting new ideas for some scams and wanted my help planning them out. I mis-managed my time this week and don't intend to make that mistake again. For now though," he swept a hand over their main textbook detailing world history, a side-book of national history, a study packet from their teacher, and a second textbook on major historical figures, "I have to cram what I can."

Marie's eyes flashed. "That's what she said." Edd groaned at the joke. "Hey, the opportunity demands it. And, you're in luck, cutie," she said, pinching his cheek and jerking his head around. "Because I already studied for all this."

"That's good to hear. But unless you can somehow transfer all that knowledge to me, I don't see how that helps."

"Well, not right now," she said, shifting her eyes and keeping her voice low as a couple of students filed in. "But during the test, well, you know."

She let the implication hang in the air and it didn't take Edd long to catch on. "No, absolutely not," he said.

"What? You don't think I know the answers?"

"No, but I'm not going to cheat on the test."

"Don't think of it as cheating," she said. "Think of it as scratching your back for all the times you've scratched mine." Her lips curled wickedly. "Metaphorically, not literally, you animal."

He quickly shushed her as one student looked their way. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to."

"Hey," she said, "I re-arranged my schedule to share as many classes with you as possible and you've helped me with them so far."

"Not that much. You've picked up on those areas rather well."

"Thanks, but you still helped. And the least I can do is return the favor for my man." He opened his mouth, but she grabbed both his lips between her thumb and forefinger, pinching them shut. "You may know a lot academically, but if there's one thing Kankers know, it's how to cheat on a test. How do you think our mom got those three useless dads of ours to pay child support?"

Edd was too flabbergasted by the last comment to form a response. More students were coming in and according to his wristwatch, he only had a few minutes left. He weighed his options, staring at the books and study material. There was far too much to consume in the next few minutes. He wouldn't pass for sure.

On the other hand, "I've never really engaged in cheating."

"Really?" she raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "You don't cheat people out of their money on a regular basis." She had him there. "It's for your grade, so it's a good cause, right? No one will ever know. Look," she pushed the books away from him and tugged on his beanie, bringing his head beside hers, "do what you want, but since it's a multiple choice, I'll signal you. One cough for A, two for B, and so on. Got it?"

"Wouldn't coughing so much be suspicious?"

"Fine, I'll clear my throat on C and clear it for a long time on D. Happy?"

He didn't have a chance to answer, as the teacher marched in, clapping his hands to signal all of them to be silent. Marie scooted her desk back to its original position.

"Face forward, please," the teacher said, shutting the door. "Put away all books and everything else on your desk. The only thing you should have out is a pencil." He grabbed a stack of stapled paper from his desk, licking his finger and thumbing through them. "There are two versions of the test, so any wandering eyes will do you no good."

He slapped down a stapled test on Edd's desk with "Version A" written in the corner while Marie received a "Version B". Edd glanced at her, asking himself the obvious: _What now?_

"That said, I had better not catch anything all the same." While the teacher's back was turned, Edd looked over the test. Already, he was unsure about the first three questions and there seemed to be several pages. He massaged his temple, biting down on his pencil and unsure how to manage this.

He heard a scuffle beside him and noticed Marie heatedly gesturing and pointing at the boy in front of her and his own Version A test. The boy shook his head and turned back around in his seat. Or tried to. Within a flash, Marie grabbed the collar of his shirt and raised a threatening fist under his nose, her yellow-stained teeth sneering in his face.

That simple act was all the boy needed to comply with Marie's demand and he quickly exchanged his test for hers. Before the teacher had reached his desk and spun around, the papers had been swapped and he was none the wiser. Marie winked at her boyfriend as the teacher gazed over the class.

"You may now begin."

A few seconds passed and Edd waited. Marie cleared her throat during the first question. Answer C. Edd paused, reviewing the options. Did he dare risk his good academic standing on this one test? His arm shook as he touched his pencil to the paper. He couldn't do this. He couldn't bring himself to cheat. It wasn't in him.

A sharp kick to his shin jerked his desk and Edd accidentally circled answer C. He bit down a yelp and tried to ignore any notice from the teacher. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, Marie nodded and he sighed. So much for the moral high ground.

She had a point. What were nineteen questions compared to their past schemes? _Forget it_, he thought, circling the next answer as Marie gave two coughs.

Despite the scant set-up of communication, Marie and Edd worked through the test, almost mentally connected on what question they were each on and pacing themselves so the teacher did not become suspicious. Marie finished and handed in her paper first while Edd pretended to check his answers.

"Need a cough drop, Miss Kanker?" the teacher asked, concerned as he took her paper.

"Just a bit of breakfast stuck in my throat," she said and sat back down.

After several others handed in their papers, Edd turned in his as well and sat back down, a huge weight lifting off of him. The teacher didn't seem to be any wiser about their deception, simply grading the papers while the rest of the class completed their test. The pair had managed to pull it off.

Or so he thought. As the bell rang to signal the end of class, Edd and Marie slung their backpacks over their shoulders and slipped their hands into each other's, joining the crowd walking out. "One moment, you two," the teacher called as the rest of the class exited. "Would you mind hanging back for a moment?"

Edd froze up, squeezing Marie's hand tight as if to say, "He knows!"

She gave him a stern look and returned the squeeze. "No, he doesn't," it seemed to reply. "Stay calm."

It was hard to remain calm at all when the teacher held up both their tests once the class had left. Each paper was marked in the same red passing score, taunting Edd with his dishonesty. "I seem to recall, Miss Kanker," he said, tapping the corner of her test with the version, "that I gave you a different copy."

"Maybe you printed an extra?" she suggested, but her widening eye shared the same concern as Edd's heart. They had been caught.

"Perhaps, but it's strange you should both get the same score, missing the exact same questions. Especially you, Eddward," he said, flipping the page. "After all, you correctly answered only last week that William the Conqueror started his campaign in 1066, yet you chose _1076_."

"Well, uh," Edd stumbled over his words, "you see, I, uh," Marie elbowed him, "forgot!"

The teacher appeared unconvinced, making Edd's knees tremble. "And how is your cough doing, Miss Kanker?" he asked, turning back to her. "Get that bit of food out?"

"Yeah," she said.

The teacher nodded. "I see. Look, I know you were cheating. Both of you."

That broke the dam for Edd. He fell to his knees with a scream, shocking both Marie and the teacher. "Please forgive us! It wasn't her fault. It was mine. I engaged in this terrible act! Curse my temporary lack of morality! I promise, we'll never do it again! Please, have mercy!"

Silence passed as the clock on the wall ticked steadily and students outside power-walked from one class to the next. When Marie helped Edd to his feet and he had regained his composure to be suitably embarrassed by his display, the teacher cleared his throat and continued.

"Er, right. Yes, you were cheating, much to my surprise. Given the circumstances, you both will serve detention tomorrow morning. I'll allow you to re-take a different version of the test at a later date as well. But don't let me catch you cheating in the future. Is that understood?"

"Absolutely," Edd said, his heart light and merry. That was as well a punishment as he could hope for.

"Crystal," Marie said, dragging Edd along to her locker. "Catch you tomorrow."

Edd fell against the lockers while Marie opened hers, rooting through it for some energy drinks and stuffing them in her backpack. "That was close."

"Should've figured it was too much for your first time," Marie said. "Thought you were about to have a complete breakdown." He nodded, rubbing his forehead and thanking the heavens for how the encounter went. She stood up for a moment, taking his chin in her hand and looking him in the eye. "Hey," she said softly, "are you doing okay?"

"Yes, thank you," he said and kissed her. "I'm just glad we weren't expelled."

"Nah, we were never going to get expelled," she said, kicking her locker shut. "That guy's a pushover, only does detention. And your begging helped a lot."

"What do you mean?" She didn't answer, focusing on zipping up her backpack instead and he had a sudden sneaking suspicion there was more to all this. "Marie," Edd said slowly, "did you know we would get detention?" She didn't raise her head. "Did you plan this?"

Finally done with her backpack, she met his eye. "No, I didn't _plan_ for us to get detention. But you know," that mischievous grin spread across her face, "it was always an option." His jaw dropped and she waved him off. "Oh, don't look so surprised. The teacher's a pushover, he's not stupid. The coughing routine, having the same copy of the test as you. He was bound to notice."

"And you didn't mention this?"

"You needed help and now you got a second chance instead of risking an F," she pointed out. "Besides," she leaned closer, her breath tickling his ear, "this gives us time to spend together in detention."

"What?!" he yelped.

She shrugged. "You have to make up for not coming today. Don't worry. The teacher frequently takes phone calls in the morning. So we'll have plenty of," she bit her lip and pressed her body against him so he was trapped between the locker and her curvy figure, "alone time."

She had played him. She had played him and he never saw it coming. He gazed toward the ceiling, silently praying, _Give me strength_, as the heat from her body started to warm him up too much.

"I'll see you in class," she said, giving him a long kiss. "And since you're so kind to join me tomorrow, I'll be sure to wear something more," she waved a hand at her tanktop and cargo pants, "_appropriate_." She kissed him once more, leaving and intermingling into the stream of students.

Edd groaned and shuffled off unsteadily to class, pulling his beanie down over his face. _Curse my active imagination_, he said, trying and failing to stop the parade of images of Marie in lieu of her lingering comment. It would certainly be a trying detention tomorrow.

He was looking forward to it.

**Sword:** Whew! I need some water to cool down from that spicy bit!

Sword? Sword, where are you?

**Sword:** Uh-oh. I gotta go. Thanks for reading everyone! Please let me know what you thought. Love ya! Bye!


End file.
